Over the Rainbow

The alleyway was narrow as he followed the black cloaked figure, keeping enough of a distance that he could only ever follow her shadow. The worst thing someone could do while tailing another was make themselves obvious, and although Darataka was not a master spy he had spent many of his years hunting great mammoths and keeping out of sight while stalking elk in the mountains.

He had been sent to Oak Town to find someone who had been pick pocketing or robbing to a small degree, and stumbled across this cloaked person in dark leathers while watching the town plaza. They had continually bumped into people and then put their hands inside their pockets or cloak, so he had been able to put two and two together....

The straight away was coming to an end, and he rounded the corner to find the cloak figured standing near a small emptied barrel with a flame in it.
"Crap!" He ducked behind the wall to avoid being seen, and gazed at what they might be doing. Not even ten feet away....

Warming their hands on the fire that breathed out from the metal cylinder, and might have been laughing or chucking? Darataka peered closer, drawing up his own hood as well. The sound was off, and after a few seconds he realized....They were crying.
"What the hell was going on here?"

Not long after, the figure lowered their own hood to reveal a....girl? A boy? Someone with delicate features and natural beauty that could have been admirable on either gender. Soft pale skin with greenish aqua locks of hair that fell just around the ears, slightly spiked up into a faux cut that accentuated her piercings that danced all along her ear.
And yet the tears that fell from her face felt undeserved, even though he was hunting this person and had seen them commit theft. He felt some odd sorrow for them as the clear pain ran down their cheeks and fell into the flames. Compelled to either act in duty or compassion, he stepped out from behind the wall and called out.

"Are you okay?" he asked, poking his head curiously out of the corner wall.

The person must have been terribly startled because they immediately drew a dagger and threw it towards his face, Dara ducking down just in time for it to sail through his hair causing a few ivory strands to fall to the ground.
He stepped out fully, and then approached the figure who drew a scimitar and wiped their arm across their eyes. "Stay away!"

Darataka raised both his hands and didn't dare move for his own weapon, he could sense her intent wasn't lethal but frightened. " Don't worry, I am not here to hurt you." taking a few steps forward. "I could just tell you were upset." he said getting about five feet away.

She/he might have been able to sense his genuine feelings or could have just been looking for someone to talk to... But they sniffed a few times and lowered their weapon....
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Darataka took a few steps forward and dropped his arms and walked towards the young person, hoping to help console them in some way. He dared not to make any type of movement towards them or make any hints at his career intent. Hell, he wasn't even sure if he could arrest someone who was crying....

They looked over at him and allowed him to step a few paces closer, until he was a body's length away. "I'm just stuck....Lost.." they seemed frustrated or defeated by their own attempts at speaking, but it wasn't completely lost on the young white haired boy before them.

"Hey, maybe I can help..Y'know?" he said fixating upon them with his own emerald orbs, finding that their eyes were a bright amber color. Still even at this distance, he had trouble finding which gender this person was, which made him feel uncomfortable at his own attraction to them.

"What is your name?" he asked, trying to bridge that gap.

"Serona." they said, looking over at him, both their hands now reaching out towards the flames that breathed out from the flame barrel. Two total strangers sharing a fire over what he had thought was going to be a simple arrest mission.

"Well Serona...do you wanna talk about it?" he asked, making it clear that he could see their troubles.

The green haired beauty sighed, and reached into their own cloak, touching something before withdrawing their hand and focusing back on the flames...

There was a long silence between the two of them, which was fine. Dara wasn't always one for talking, he was usually more of a listener as it was. He was content just being there for this person and trying to get a fixation on why they were so forlorn,perhaps then he could decipher why they had been stealing. The best use of work wasn't always force, perhaps that was why he had been placed into the Special Operatives division of the Rune Knights....

Low and behold, she did eventually speak on her own choice. "You were following me because of the stealing....Weren't you?" their voice soft and not aggressive at all, more of a defeated coo.

Dara didn't speak, just nodded where he stood.

Another pause, both of them gazing into the embers. The sun was setting now, and the blue horizon began to creep over the orange above...Night was coming, and Dara wondered if it got cold here. Well, not for him. It took alot for him to get cold.

" I'm homeless. I gotta survive somehow....Right?" a gentle chuckle at the end.

Finally he spoke up, equally soft and understanding. " Pick pocketing isn't exactly making the world a better place. The people you were taking from lose something while you gain. That isn't proper balance."

" Those people are the reason I am out here!" they snapped, taking a step towards him making the fingers of the young wizard twitch.
He stopped himself to reach for his blade though, something she may have picked up on. Darataka instead focused on relaxing, knowing that diplomacy was the best route here and released a heavy sigh.
"Well then, why don't you tell me your story? I'm not here to arrest you right away, I was sent to investigate."

He or she took a few moments to watch and observe herself, like they were waiting in the sidelines of a match on the final kick of some sport. " I used to be so loved here..." again the soft tone that concerned them as likely female took over their voice. " I was the most popular girl in my class, heavily talented in all aspects of education and prized among the community of Oak Town as a future Wizard in hope...But nothing ever felt quite right." looking at their hands, it was a type of horrid melancholy. " I wasn't comfortable in my own body... I never felt like I was supposed to be a girl I guess, nor a boy. I always felt in between..." she then looked away from the flames and up at him. "Balanced." using his own word against him.

Dara nodded and waited.

" My parents had sworn me off for marriage , to a wonderful man who would raise my families status through the arrangement...He courted me for awhile.. He really was sweet. But when i told him all of this after a few months, he was completely supportive. Shen said that he didn't care what gender I was, he loved me for me and would help me through whatever it was I needed.." a smile that was true broke through the clouds of their sadness.

Then a shake of their head. " But he tried to explain things to both of our families, but they forbade the marriage...Then they imprisoned Shen... And my ..My family dis-honed me.." tears flooding their eyes, a whimper from their lips.
Dara took a step forward placing a reassuring hand on their shoulder. He realized nobody had likely listened to their story in a long time, if ever.

"I've been on my own for a few months now.. Alone...."

The white haired youth drank in her words for a moment, then focused on what to say next. " I under stand then.... I will speak to your family."

She shook her head, aggressively. "No, it won't do any good. I've pleaded with them to release him and keep me imprisoned instead, but they said this was for my insolence, and betrayal to our name....." the tears now steadily falling.

He tightened his grip on her shoulder and lifted her chin with his spare hand, a strange gesture for two total strangers. " I will make them listen. Nature is not so simple as yes or no Serona. Rejecting family instead of embracing them was their own crime in all of this.

An accepting nod, and they wiped their eyes.

Then Dara turned around and walked away from the ally. He wasn't sure where to start with all of this, but he agree'd with the sentiment. Things weren't always what they seemed.

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